Keep the faith in your Habs everyone!! We cheer now, figure it out in the off-season. What this team needs is support, a good home crowd push before going to the playoffs!!!! NEVER STOP BELIEVING. Journey was good for something…..

Bertuzzi will definitely get suspended… His past record has a little blemish on it. If he doesn’t then I know the NHL is full of S#!T. Pardonnez mon Francais.

I never lost faith but must admit that in my 35yrs of watching this team, I can’t recall a worse stretch of losses & lack of effort than the last 3 games. How can we compete despite injuries through the first 73 games and tank it the last three?
Tomorrow’s is a must win game because if Carolina wins & we lose, that puts the Canes 5 back with a game in hand going into Wednesday’s match. I still believe but it will take me some time to get over the last 3 games. And yes I still think Gomez should be scratched & JM canned because they’re both useless to the team.

Bertuzzi must have been feeling left out with Chara and Cooke getting all the press so he delivered a flying elbow to the head of a Hawk tonight. I guess he couldn’t stand being out done. They need to put these three into their own league and let them go out there and try to cripple each other to their hearts’ content and leave the NHL for the actual hockey players.
Repeat offender, should get what Cooke got, but the NHL’s head is up it’s backside so who knows.

So, I’ve lived in and around Boston all my life, except while in the US Army, and have always been a Habs fan. There was always something about them that was pure magic. I have fist-fought my older brothers, friends, a friends father and a couple of d-bags from New Hampshire in the balcony of the “FleetCenter”. I have worn my “colors” with pride, but the only other time I was embarrassed like this, 3 SO’s and 7-0 to the B’s, was when we got smoked 4-0 to them in the playoffs and Komisarek got banged out by Lucic to top it off. Having said all that, everyone on hear obviously cares as much as I do, can someone tell me why Gomez doesn’t man up and tell JM “drop me down, I’m hurting the club. Down a few lines, down in TOI, down anywhere.” What about Gionta? He’s the captain, he knows Gomez from back in the day, they’re probably “boys” and all that, couldn’t he tell him to wake the “f” up and make a normal pass if he won’t step aside for the good of the club? Just saying is all.

Hey, I never complain about specific players or how they play (BP one time) but the whole team has been “playing scared” since the Bruin game in Montreal and it has shown in their record since the “Chara incident”. Unless the grow some backbone in the next 6 games (and don’t play the Bruins 1st. round) we will be done early and it won`t be CP`s fault as the halak worshipers will claim. The Chara hit and no retribution seems to have drained the life or spirit out of the Habs. I hope things turn around in the next 6 games and I am proven wrong and someone steps up to lead us forward. Don`t know who (and not blaming Gionta the captain) it will be, but someone has to `grab the bull by the horns` or It`s gonna be a long summer.

I’d love to play the b’s in the first round, I bet any amount of money that if we won 1 of the first two games, especially the first, it would all be back to normal. By normal I mean everyone in boston privately s***ing their pants that it’s back to being the team that haunts their hockey dreams. I live in Boston, they’re only terrified of two things, the habs and the yanks. No matter how often they beat them the b’s and the sox are always thinking of them.

Maybe I`m just depressed about how we have played since the Chara mugging but right the team is unfortunatly scared of the Bruins and that has to change. We had a chance to set some things right last game but from what I`ve read the Habs were no where up to the challange. I agree that if we win the 1st game things might change and I hope they do. But I also play Lotto Max.

Scared of the B’s? Give me a break. We own those idiots from Boston. The 2 games we lost to them happened because we stooped to their level & abandoned our own game. I’ll play them in the first round and ship them to the golf course.

healey on sportnet today stated that the habs were like a bunch of fairies skating around in boston…but what was worse that last week even people who are not biased vs the habs on usa shows commented how suprised they were on the habs performance and lack of response in boston…

Can’t say I disagree with heals. Healey is the dictionary version of a backup goalie..so he’s made a career out of sitting in the front row and seen a lot of hockey. I hope that the Habs true powers that be will stand up and purge PG and his lackey Martin. What has JM and his (profanity deleted) brand of hockey ever won?

Due to work and being no were near the internetnI missed the Bruins game but did wonder how we played vs. the bruins. Now i guess I know. Not calling up the BEEF for the game in Montreal where i predicted if we got a big lead someone was going to be hurt and the prediction unfortunatly came through. Don’t know if it was JM’s or PG’s call ( and yes I know we have only so many call-ups) but we know what jerks the Bruins are and I guarantee you Chara knew it was Max and knew exactually what he was doing. If we had brought up say Bonneau and he had taken out a Bruin in the 3rd. period and gotten a suspension, big deal. He ‘s not a regular so the suspension has no real meaning to the team’s regular line up.. I may sound Heartless or cruel etc. but the reality is we lost an excellent player and nothing happened to Chara or any Bruin and you wonder why the players were prehaps not going into the corners because who know’s who next to be attacked by a Bruin with no one to give payback and wait for the league to rule (what a joke). And I don’t blame White cause he’s the only one who can throw -em (Wiz. with cage can’t fight) and at the time we were down to virtually no d-men so Mara could not do much. But a lot of dead Habs from the past were spinning in their graves that no one took out a Bruin in the 3rd. period espically with Chara gone. Pity that BGL turned into a “profanity deleted” from a Lion as if he had been around before his Vegan days the Chara hit never would have happened.

The Habs don’t need muscle because. All those people who called for Bonneau and Henry to be called up were proven wrong. The Habs soundly beat the Bruins playing hockey. Wait a minute…..

It’s the nattering nabobs of positivism here who think the world is made up of lolly pops and roses and all is sweet as they tuck their little heads to bed at night and dream their starry eyed dreams of figure skaters winning the Stanley Cup with finesse.

Even when proven wrong by a humiliating defeat followed by a 3rd consecutive shut out they go on and on and about how it’s just a blip and everything will be fine. They are still here going on and on about how the Habs are going to surprise everybody once the play-offs start. Problem is the Habs need to win a few games to get there and they need to get there heads out of their turtle necks before they can even muster up a goal let alone a win.

Being that Gomez is completely useless past the blue line anyway, Martin should dress him as a defenseman next game. He also can’t win a puck battle on the boards but that won’t matter. Should wake him up. Man that would be pretty funny to see Martin pull something like that. Know it won’t happen but one can dream. Carbo woulda done it

I really don`t know what witch doctor some one at CBC got to put a death spell on us this year with all the injuries and substandard playing of Gomer and Cammy (who looks injured so maybe a pass) and others but yeah Gomer seems to be just not there.

Dear Dr. Recchi
I took a nasty fall from the ladder while painting this afternoon and now my left arm is pointing backwards from the elbow. I’m in terrible pain and can’t put on a clean shirt to go the hospital. What should I do?
Paul in Wisconsin
Dean Paulette
The fact you e-mailed me tells me there’s nothing really wrong with you. You could have a dislocated uvula but that can be undislocated by falling backwards. If this doesn’t work – and it might not seeing as you’re not a hockey player, right? – well then go to the local hospital and waste the time of the ER people. Put on a sleeveless undershirt if that helps.
Dr. R

Dear Dr. Recchi
The neighbour accidently set off his crossbow while I was peeling potatoes in the kitchen and now I got an arrow sticking out of my neck. Should I pull it out or call 911?
Sue in Utah
Hon’
I’d rip it out and then duct tape the gash until you finished cooking supper. I don’t think the menfolk in the family would mind doing the dishes tonight while you went out to get some of those big Band-Aids the drug stores sell. The boys would probably love it if you brought back some pork rinds.
Dr. R

Dear Mark
I play professional sports and in the past year I’ve suffered two serious blows to the head. My memory is faulty, I feel sleepy all the time, and I’m really worried about my future. I’ve tried talking to my teammates but they seem to be ignoring me. Do you think I’m a victim of a concussion?
M.S. in Massachusetts
Dear Ms.
I’m something of an expert on concussions. What you describe sounds more like a person who’s hungover, likes to stay in bed in all day and can’t get along with his teammates. Be honest, are you trying to exaggerate your condition to qualify for some long-term disability plan?
Dr. R

Wanna get a good hate going.. for basically anything and anyone.. but particularly for JM AND PG and Chara and Recchi and Don Cherry.

Then you shoulda been listening to Melnyk in the afternoon. If you have ever sat and hollered and glared and be one with players like Riseborough and Bouchard and Jarvis and Tremblay and Nilan and Robinson. If you have ever been thankful that there were MEN on your hockey team, including the coaches and the higher up.. who stood up for being a Canadien. If you were pis&&%%d OFF not only by the loud-mouth cracks of Richard et al against P.K but because you did not see JM nor any player OPEN HIS MOUTH… but had to wait for someone like GAINEY to do the right thing the FIRST chance he had). If you hear the sh&&%$ coming out of Recchi’s mouth and feel thankful that someone like Chris Nilan can put into words your frustrations as a fan… because he has lived in those days of Canadiens honour. If for the past week or so and maybe for most of this season, you just had to sit and take deep breaths and hope no one looks at you the WRONG WAY for a few minutes while you felt this anguish for your team.

If you ARE a fan because you LOVED the honour and glory that this team gave to you through all the years because they STOOD for something…. something which in the privacy of your basement can bring tears to your eyes.

If you feel all this and listened to Melnyk today… you will be glad that there are others who have that vacuum in their souls right now and are inclined to fill it with HATE for those who have trampled on the honour of this team.. includig those WITHIN the organization.

And you wont be afraid to come to this site and say it… despite the probability of all the thumbs down from people who will tell you EVERYTHING is alright and JM and PG have worked wonders and we are in this situation only because of injuries.

It’s cracking the whip a leather rope that was used to hit slaves back in the day to make them work harder. Anyways the Habs will snap out of this cold streak don’t be surprised if it take them to the 2nd period of tonight’s game, but i rather have it like 14 secs in lol.

They don’t have any easy games Ian. Every single one will be a struggle. Martin has them so afraid of giving up a goal, they may not score another this season. Atlanta beats them and they will be destroyed the following night by the ‘canes.

ian.agree on the whip. this late in the season what is really going to accomplish. its like booing the team off the ice. no effect what so ever.

seems to me that other teams have figured out the habs..as in bottle the dmen up and not let anyone make the first pass, of course no markov or gorges is the problem and pk cannot do it all.
with no speed though the zone no goals and we do not play the dump and chase since we don’t have big forwards to forecheck.

if martin opens up..then lots of 2 on 1’s on a slow defence.

i can’t see geoff molson firing martin after last year. martin is good coach..what can he do with the injuries he has had to deal with.

Do we actually have any one behind the bench that knows the offensive side of the game? JM is a goalie. Not sure that Pearn has done anything but coach, and he coaches defence anyways. And Muller, in his 20+ excellent years in the bigs, had 6 seasons with over 30 goals, but 11 seasons, under 10.

Pretty impressive how the pens are keeping to the tops of the eastern standings even with the loss of 2 of the leagues premiere players. gotta say i’m impressed with their coach and how he has kept that team together.

onto montreal though. i’m not worried, yet…. i think people have to understand that if this team played an offensive style we would be hanging out carey to dry. martin wants to win games 3-2, and 2-1 and not 5-4, 6-4; we have to play to our strength, which is goaltending and apart for a few weird games the D hasn’t been that bad. look for a stronger net presence next game and we’ll get some bounces going our way.

1..teams have figured out the habs system. its made easier since we lack a dmen who can make the first pass out and create speed in neutral zone…no speed no goals.
2..camms came to montreal with the thought of scoring 35-45 goals only to be stiffled by the defensive system martin has installed..his injured and or frustrated.
3. we play leafs in last game. They could knock us out of playoffs.
4. still remaining positive.

I was at Saturday’s game and have watched this team every game leading up to Saturday and all I saw was guys out of sync, out of position and out to lunch. It was apperent that their game plan did not work and nor did it change after the fact. I’m not sure why, but it was apparent that these guys, on that night, did not want to play. I watched Price all night, banging his stick, encouraging his d’men, doing whatever to get them into the game. There definitely seemed to be something up that made for a lackluster performance. Gionta and Eller threw the biggest hits… yup I said Gionta. And the fans booing Gomez… guys, he’s not going anywhere, Montreal didn’t give him that contract, and granted, he’s overpaid but what can you do. Booing him surely does not help.
However, the team stunk that night (and Thursday too). Fans can do what they wish but there was something up with that team that night that I’m sure wasn’t smoothed out on Sunday!

And that would be the funny bit of it. The win and 2 points would take some sting out of the performance… I do wish they would score 8 goals every game though.
Kinda embarrassing that our last goal scored was by Pyatt also.

If Habs don’t score for the rest of the season,but win every game in a shootout 1-0, they’d be on a 9 game shutout string but still finish the season with 99 points,possibly good enough for a 4th place finish and 1st round home ice advantage.

This site began as discussing ideas and sharing information of the team you wouldn’t typically see on the news or read in the “papers”. Somehow it has evolved to be much less….although good for a laugh at times.

* The Habs currently have a 98.5% probability of makin’ the playoffs accordin’ to sportsclubstats.com. The Loafs? A whoppin’ 0.4%. Commentin’ on this figure, Loafs GM Brian Burke noted, “That’s 40 basis points higher than zero, pal, and 40 is a big number in many respects. Ok? Alright? Now, f*** off, I’m Brian Burke!”

* The same site assigns effectively even probabilities that the Habs will finish 6th or 7th in the EC. The Loafs? Roughly a two-thirds chance they end up 10th. Although I would have preferred to see T.O. in the playoffs, if only for shits ‘n’ giggles, a 10th place finish is welcome news to anyone who does not care to see the Broonz once again have themselves a party at the Entry Draft.

* Another notable event from 1949: Israel and Syria sign a truce to end their 19-month war.

What’s wrong with your math? your sample size is inadequate to use as a basis for projections. Take out the 8 goal game and one shutout loss – and see how many goals we’ve scored over the last 10 games, and you’ll have a better statistical model.

I disagree with the idea of remaking a team via free agency. It wasn’t possible in the days when there wasn’t a salary cap and it’s even less possible in today’s cap era.

There are 5 factors involved with skating a contender listed in order of preference:

1) draft high
2) draft often
3) draft well in the late rounds
4) player development and coaching
5) free agency signings and trades

The Habs in essence reverse the order. Any team that employs 5 of these methods has an edge over a team the uses only 4 of them. A team that uses 4 of these methods has an edge over a team that uses only 3, etc.

The major killer for the Habs is that they rarely if ever participate in the either of the first two categories. The only team that has succeed in the modern era without employing the #1 requirement is Detroit. They are an anomaly in the NHL. Hopefully the Habs could follow this methodology however any team that get’s the top picks and employs the other 4 methods will have an edge over a team that chooses to employ only 4 of the 5 methods.

However there is a caveat; a team that is better at milking the most from the last 4 methods, as Detroit has done, can skate a better team than a team that uses all 5 methods poorly.

Nevertheless, any team that uses the 5 methods to optimum success is virtually unstoppable.

Agreed but a team can also be rebuilt through the draft without having to blow up the current team. Without Factor 1, Habs have a good core of young players, admittedly not superstars, from which to continue to build. The Gomez /Gio era will pass one year and if PG can accomplish the remaining Factors the Habs will be fine. The time of being “dominant” for extended years teams has passed. All a fan can hope for is to remain competitive each year.

We’ve actually had great luck in late rounds, Markov, Halak, others. But that comes down to scouting, and from what I recollect from Serious’s articles we’re a couple of years out from knowing how the scouting revamp will pay off… kind of leaving us in limbo.

BTW, how the heck are you getting thumbs down when you are presenting fact? Facts are just, um, facts…

There you go again being a Debbie Downer. What rough spot? It’s all part of the plan to get our 1st round opponent over confident and have the rest of the pundits at the CBC and TSN write us off like they did last year.

We all know what would’ve happened if the Habs came into the play-offs strong. We’d be picked as favorites and every team would play to their utmost best and make it all the more harder on us.

If you use your personal e-mail, maybe; not if you’ve created one outta whole cloth for your etherworld chattin, which you should do in EVERY case, not just this one.
Ex: “Bugs Potter, 4th row, Carrot Junction, Albuquerque”
To quote the Great Arnold: “Come and get me.”
(Extra credit: What movie was that?)

It doesn’t matter what email address you use, your personal one, or a made-up one. The information on your computer (e.g. the websites you’ve visited etc.) gets picked up by the little bot-program used by websites like Gravatar to personalize the ads that pop up on your pages. They sell this information to ad agencies who pay to have their ads put up on pages you look at.

Even if I sign up with Gravatar as iatethewholething@spoogemail.crump, they will still be able to poke their noses into my …private places… and thus is your info spread around (ie info about what your interests are, your recent searches, and your porn preferences).

That is not true. They can only know what your browsing habits are if there is either a spyware, adware or another nefarious (I’ll get to another method later) program installed on your computer. The only thing they can do with an email is spam you. If however you use a gravatar account to log into Facebook and Twitter and you click on ads on those sites they can track those. Also some cookies allow this info to be passed along so the best practice is to vigilant with what cookies you allow your browser to accept.

Dude, give it up. Management has been working to balance the size factor with the speed and skill factor all along – see Patches, Pouliot, Eller, Picard, Wiz (short-ish, but broad and tough), Tinordi, etc.

When you decide to remake your team through free agency (a move I have been a fan of since it happened), then you do your best with what is available. Yes, Gio and Cam are smurfs. Gomez is not, but he was, so “they” say, a pre-requisite for the other two. DD? He was most certainly not part of the team’s long-term vision, but he has earned his place this season through hard work and determination (= point production). So now the management will have to decide how to balance that. They looked around at the deadline, but didn’t jump, which they no doubt had good reason for.

We will see what happens this summer.

In the meantime, there’s a Stanley Cup to shoot for, and our smurfs are doing better than expected in that department, again, despite the results of the last three embarrassing games.

The string of shutout losses is unfortunate, but the Habs have done well to come this far through a grueling, injury-plagued March tied for 6th. Recall that they beat Boston, TB twice, and shut out Pittsburgh during that stretch.

The timing of this ugly streak is actually good. As a result, I’ll bet we see play off level intensity from our team from here on in.

After wanting to watch my team play in Montreal for about 30 years, I drove allmost 1000km and finally got to see my first game at the Bell Centre, what an amazing experience. They lost and didn’t score but to watch Carey play the way he did made it all worth it. When the light was shining down on him and the crowd was chanting his name, it gave me chills and is something ill never forget. Stubbs and Boone i have to say i had great seats but i think after going up into the press gallery you guys have the best seats in the house. Can’t wait to get back to Montreal and watch another game.

Is there any way of implementing a system where comments that receive a certain number of negative votes (maybe 10) would no longer be readily visible? Something like instead of the post being shown, just a note that reads “comment has a low rating, click to view”?
I think a system like that would go a long way towards curbing trolls, since instead of replying, one could just give a negative vote, therefore contributing to that post no longer being visible.

No, it wouldn’t. Especially not since you can vote more than once.
The thumbs have KILLED debate over here; that’s what they’ve done.
As a fer instance, JayV; over time, I have angered a few immature posters with my “parlez-vous” and they’ve now made it their mission in life to follow me around on this site and thumb down everything I say, no matter what I say, repetitively. Refresh, thumbs down. Refresh, thumbs down and so on. It vindicates their loss of face at my expense somehow, I don’t know. What I DO know is that for all the -27s I get, curiously, not ONE reply that ACTUALLY “disagrees” with what I said.
The thumbs aren’t about “agree-disagree”, JayV; they’re about “like-dislike”. Ballot-stuffing so, in fact. NOTHING to do with debate.
The thumbs are a total FAIL on this site and they need to go, or at the very least, be limited to ONE per poster PER post.

I can only vote once now- problem’s been fixed.
So what if certain posters always “thumbs down” you? Bugs is better than that; he rises above the petty fray and defers to no one. Now, get back in the game, Bugs!

Valid points, there should be no more than one vote per member. But the main point is, if one wishes to read the hidden post anyways, all you have to do is click. And don’t worry, even if all your posts get hidden, I for one will still click to read them.

I don’t bother with the thumbs up/down, but I like it when it keeps Trolly McTrollerson from commenting. The one positive about thumbs is that 90% of the ‘discussion’ it truncates is total garbage; uncivilized insults, failure to debate, total dross mainly. It WAS mostly like/dislike, just way more verbose and obnoxious.

If those folks can just click an ‘up’ or ‘down’ and just not engage in keyboard warfare, it’s very welcome. Especially on a mobile device.

I’m kinda disappointed anyone actually cares, but for those who live to show off their wit, it must be galling to simply be assigned a +/- and not be able to argue about it.

There is something in Apple software where an icon or something explodes into a little cloud, like the dirt around PigPen in Charlie Brown. That’s a great idea, have the negative votes explode at a certain point. Hysterical.

It’s more that communism is no more likely to produce censorship than fascism. It’s not the ideologym, it’s the concentration of power within a small cadre of folk. Some of the most free market oriented countries (ie 1980’s Chile) this wolrd have ever seen all sorts of brutal censorships. Whatevre, this is n’t a politics blog, it just gets on my nerves when people misuse such basic terms.

A more up to date example of your point re Chile is China. The combination of a certain amount of capitalist freedom with brutal censorship is possibly the scariest development of our time. And you’re right. Fascism and Communism use the same methodologies to control expression.

Dumb idea. Because thumbs up/down are given based on who you are and not according to the content. I said one thing about JM and got thumbs down, and another time Ian Cobb basically said the same thing and got thumbs up.

[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.

Why of course we want only posts on this site that nearly everybody agrees with. We need to stamp out — delete, send into the memory hole — any opinions that nearly everyone doesn’t like. And of course if anyone somehow manages to post an unpopular post here, why then it should be deleted STRAIGHT AWAY lest anyone have their feelings hurt or upset.

I’m not sure how you have any clue about how much emotion Martin has. He doesn’t show a lot of emotion behind the bench because he’s keeping it together. Unlike other coaches who are constantly losing their shit, and looking like idiots, he keeps a level head. Each coach has a different approach (which rhymes, but I’ll leave the freestyling for another post), and not every coach’s technique works for every player.

People get upset because Martin doesn’t yap to the media. I LIKE THAT!! I like the fact that we don’t see what he’s got up his sleeve. I like the fact that he tells the media exactly what they need to hear (nothing) and saves his real insights for the dressing-room, and the people who count – i.e. the players.

I have no respect for coaches who mouth off to the media. Just like I have no respect for players who do the same. You’re not in this job to play Ann Landers, you’re here to win games. STFU.

Like Cammy said in the article the other day, it’s impossible to know how teams are feeling, and what is going on in the room. Even he was often surprised by the buzz in the room, and he plays for the team.

I’m not saying that Martin is the best coach in the league, or the best coach we’ve had, but he’s got us to a great position considering all the things that have gone against us this season.

JM’s experience shows the following: no emotion- no cups. He is great in the regular season but when games reallt count- like the last two weeks of last year’s season and again this year- he cannot get his team up to play. I knoe some people give him credit for last years’ playoff run but that credit belongs to Muller and the player’s who led in the room. Get rid of JM and PG or we’ll be wriitng these same sad notes for years to come.

Agree completely with Martin’s lack of emotion – he is probably ready to blow a gasket as am I most times. Strong leaders rise above that garbage, and he is a leader.

Until Kirk is a regular Head Coach in this league, I don’t want to hear how wonderful he is nor how much better off we would be with him and not JM. I don’t see Kirk Muller doing anything more than is his job and the job of any Asst Head Coach in the NHL. I really like him, always have, but enough with annointing him the next savior – its not fair to him either.

Not necesarily you, but most I have read, give him all the credit for eveything good that happens and blame JM for everything bad. Pathetic…and ignorant.

I’m not a huge JM fan and I can’t argue he has never won the cup, but he is better than any coach we have had for years and this is finally a decent team to watch with help coming (yeah, they actually do have a goalie and some kids now).

What you seem to miss is that when the other coaches react and yell they all of a sudden begin getting less calls. There’s keeping it cool and then there’s standing up for your team. Martin is a dead beat who sits there and just accepts any call. Worse is he sometimes benches the player when it’s a cheap call, something not usually called. Also, Martin didn’t get us where we are, the team did.

Please, I would bet Martin, like many other classy coaches that are true leaders, has discussions with the officals where it is more appropriate and classy to talk to them about calls. Instead of showing them up in front of 21K people, acting like a spoiled child. That wont get you many calls either…

We, under JM’s genius, are the most penalized team in the league, we haven’t scored in 3 games, he plays Gomez what 18 minutes a game for nothing, and I get 11 thumbs down and 1 thumbs up for suggesting JM bear responsibility and fall on his sword.

(and just for the record, I don’t care that he doesn’t yell at the refs.)

How is this ok? Are you all so young you can’t remember when this team had some stones?

Here is Mathias Brunet being a complete idiot. Say what you will about Gomez he’s obviously in great physical shape–he has always been a very physically strong player relative to 5′ 11″”–and his minutes & PK time alone require fitness.

I wish people would stop making asinine comments about Gomez so I could stop being his all-but-lone defender.

Love the passion and faith of Habs fan and God knows we are
known famously for it. Howevwer, we must also be realistic
about this team’s possibilities of making the playoffs and exp–
ectations once in the playoffs. We need to be fair and balanced
in our views about our team and with one another opining.
A healthy balance between passion and pragmatism will go far
in helping our blood pressure and enjoying our team more.

Maybe Tampa but we couldn’t beat Boston in a 7 game series without Max P. Our offense is too weak this year and Thomas is starting to play better.

I think we are starting to see the effect of having small top 6 players. They get wore down. Cammy is not the same as last year, gio as well and Gomez has dissapeared.
When Max P was on that line up he can stand in front of the net and has hands and speed. Moen doesn’t fit the bill.

Man I have egg on my face this season though, i thought AK was going to have a break out year.

I can totally see this team maybe getting another win this season. I totally do not see any resembling last year’s playoffs run. Whoever they play in the first round it’s down and out quickly. Hope the links are ready.

Pouliot and AK …
AK would have been my choice, I think he showed some sort of immunity to the lethargy that the team has fallen into, he was energetic, playing hard, and just played like he plays usually when he is in the mood to play.

Think Andrei will net one for the Habs on Tuesday! — From our keyboards to the Hockey God’s ears.

I’d prefer if Pouliot learned to stay on his feet first … getting tired of him falling down in the corners. Would love to see AK end it all with an opening minute goal. Not holding my breath quite yet though!

OK Peepes. Seriously there is one game right now, the next game Vs ATL. A win there and I feel better – (I hate looking ahead) BUT two consecutive wins and the Habs are in a good place. 6 games remaining and winning 4 would be good, 3 acceptable to make the playoffs. Trying to stay positive here…..

Wow, morale has taken an all time low around these parts. This past week stunk, as did the team. Nevertheless, I haven’t jumped off the band wagon. It’s in these dark times when the mettle of fans are tested.

We need someone to rally the troops. The Bard said it better than I ever could. So, if you’re feeling like your ready to give up on this group, watch the St. Crispin’s day speech

great things can happen if you have faith. If we go down, we go down swinging. Never bend your knee to the enemy.

………………………………………………………………………………….Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.
— Augustine of Hippo

7 million dollars a year and this weekend I’m reading an article from Brian Wilde questioning this guy’s fitness level and conditioning. Mailing it in at the tail end of your career with a 1 year contract for 2 million is one thing, but this is unacceptable.

Honestly, i’m not close enough to Gomez to know.. you expect a beat-writer to have more insight with the guys in the locker room to know. I was surprised to read this myself, because I, like you, never picked up on fitness being the issue. I HOPE that’s not the case.

So after being pretty P’d off with the Habs since that Boston Blowout, I sat down last night and watched a few games from last year’s playoff run that I still have on my PVR. Come to find out, we basically have the same team we had last year. There was no Markov and no Pacioretty. Sure Halak was unreal but the Habs found a way to score and win games. Some of these guys looked amazing in the playoffs, they really did show up in the big games last spring. Cammalleri caught fire, Gionta was a total warrior, Gomez had some jump and intensity, Gill upped his game big time. I was impressed with what I saw (compared to the recent effort) and then glanced at last year standings to see how the Habs finished up the season in 09-10. In their last 11 games, they went 3-4-3. In the last 12 games of the year, Cammalleri had no goals, 4 assists and a +\- of -3.
Fast forward to this year. Fans are really jumping on the team. No leaders, no scorers, no grinders, nothing. Weirdly, we have more wins than last year. The guys who are slumping (Cammy and Gomez) are veterans and know what it takes to win in the playoffs. I suspect those 2 can’t wait for this season to end so they can start over in April.
Could we be overracting or is this team as bad as we’ve seen lately ? Could this just be a slump or are the Habs destined for a first round sweep at the hands of wichever opponent they might face ?

Could it be the same effort they displayed while losing to the Islanders and the Leafs in last year’s final stretch ? How did they manage to turn it around in the playoffs last year ? They still have the same core, with the same vets and leaders as last year. Why would this team be completely different ?

I think you have a point.. yes, same team, missing Gorges and Spacek at the moment, but pretty much the same core. Here are the differences:
Cammy picked up in the second half of the season after coming off an injury. He is no where to be seen this year, only eloquent talks in the dressing room.
Gomez — nuff said.
We have a few new defensemen this year, such as Weber, Picard, Mara, Sopel
Halak isnt’ there, but that won’t bother our chances, Price is in top shape, the only issue is, are there signs of Fatigue in his play?
Gionta has been plugging on, despite people blaming him and putting him in the same category as Gomez, Cammalleri slump, I don’t think he really is in a slump, he scores often, he works hard, he shows a lot of energy on the ice as compared to Gomez and Cammy these days.
We have a captain this year.

So it’s entirely possible that this team will simply turn their game around when the puck drops in a playoff game, but it’s also entirely possible that this lethargy that they have sunk into will continue and they will choke.

All in all, it sucks to hang on to a thread to make the playoffs, hope for the playoffs, not perform or make an effort to get there and just ride a hot goaltender, and then start performing. If this is going to be the way to do it, they won’t make it far in the playoffs.

The Canadiens current slump is similar to the direction the team was going in 1986. They had a mixture of seasoned veterans like Robinson, Gainey, Green, Tremblay, Smith etc and some young rookies like Dahlin, Roy, Lemieux, Richer, etc. There was also a debate on the style the team should play.

There was unhappiness on the team. In late March of that year the team went 7 games without a win including 6 losses in a row. The media spoke about how wrong it it to struggle during this time of year. Fans at the Forum booed the Canadiens at the games. Coach Perron worked them hard in practice and some of the veterans complained how much good that would do. Perron even rode the team on a bus to the working class district of Verdon, showing them how hard it is to earn a decent income.

The team eventually jelled together and found their ground. In Late May there was a Stanley Cup parade on Ste. Catherine st.

This year’s team will also find its common ground and I feel sorry for the team that will have to face the Canadiens in the play-offs.

“It’s too much for one guy to shoulder. For us, we’re going to do it as a group. It’s about sharing that responsibility win or lose.” – Mike Cammalleri

The Canadiens current slump is similar to the direction the team was going in 1986

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No, in fact they have not been shutout thrice in a row in 62 years. Also in this last month and a half, this team allowed in one game 6 goals to NYR, 7 goals to Boston and 8 goals to Boston. And in none of those games was Habs goalie to blame. So 3 games they allowed 6 or more goals, and against 2 teams they had beaten in all 7 other meetings this year but in the other 72 games they played not once had this team allowed as much as 6 goals in a game. At the sametime lately the highest paid scorers have about disappeared. There is something (PLURAL) seriously wrong with this team now AND it won’t be easy to turn it around.

Lose tomorrow to Atlanta who have beaten the Habs this year and Carolina wins AND Habs must play 4 of their last 5 on the road with the Wednesday game a do or die game for Carolina. Pressure is on the Habs bigtime to win tomorrow night, Another performance like most of those the last few weeks they will not even make the playoffs if Carolina wins most of their games – please don’t shoot the messenger. The Habs are exactly who we thought they were!

Why is it that everyone blames Gomez only!? In this case you could blame a whole team but you are focusing on him. If it’s unproductive centres that you are whining about, then there is more than one centre you should be worried about. Let’s use Plec’s as an example…has he had a great year with stats that have equaled or beaten last year!? Please people…let’s admit it’s not just one guy and move on. Team troubles….not just one guy.

Gomez is the target because he’s been consistently not great, except for a few games here or there, also his salary is what fans are so troubled about. Yes the whole team isn’t producing (minus the goalies), but gomez is an Assistant, Getting paid way to much, and produces way to little.

I know what you mean, but that is todays pro sports and the millionaires playing it. Do you think a Richard or a Beliveau, etc. would ever play with that effort even if they made the money like these guys do?

That’s why your core must be of those you drafted. Guys who want to earn that big money so play and improve. BUT that is precisely Gainey/Gauthier’s failure here. Only now are there 3 good young players Price, Pacioretty and Subban, a ton of draft picks traded away, wasted, bad picks, not getting the most out of others like Dagostini, Grabovski, Ribeiro, Latendresse, S Kostitsyn, all at lower salaries so you could have room to make trade deadline deals and sign TOP free agents.

WHO HAS ONLY BLAMED GOMEZ.
From what I seen we’re blaming
Gainey
Martin
PG
Gomez
Cammalleri
Sopel
Mara
Plekanec
Kostitsyn
Poliout…
Halpern Moen and the fact their playing top 6 roles ( I suppose this would be under coaching though)
Then you have the argument by many who argue that PK should be on the point instead of Pleks to start the powerplay. I agree.
People are also blaming penalties and the fact that we are undisciplined.
Where you get the notion that people ONLY blame Gomez is beyond me.

That said, watch a game or 2 or 76 and then ask yourself why many people are all over Gomez. He has 7 goals in 70 something games and makes almost 8 million dollars a year. His +/- is better then Mickleson’s assuming Mickleson was playing 4 rounds from the lady tees with the flag positioned in the dead centre of every green.

It’s errant pass after errant pass after errant pass. It’s his penalties, his brain cramps his inability to produce in any situation. You see him try to get something started on the 5 on 3 against Boston the other night.. to me it was the explanation point on that garbage of a game.

Your only as strong as your weakest link. This teams weakest link happens to be Scottt Gomez.

You must sit on Beliveau’s lap getting served marinated steak and fine wine. Maybe a complementary gold nugget to boot $2000.00 a game?

Jokes aside I agree with you 100%. If you go to your favourite restaurant and order your favourite dish and it comes as you expect you wont complain. If however you spend your money on that same dish and it comes uncooked and prepared not to your standards it wouldn’t be out of the question for you to voice your concerns. I’m just glad I didn’t spend money on tickets for the last 3 games, no questions asked I’d voice my opinion. ESPECIALLY towards Scott Gomez.

Tomas Plekanec is the team’s leading scorer. He is consistently their best offensive and defensive player, which is clear to anyone who watches the games.

He’s had some injuries and a revolving cast of linemates, so his numbers look like they will be slightly down from last year.

Comparing that to Scott Gomez’ continuing and complete no-show of a performance is silly in the extreme. There are other Canadiens who should be in for criticism – Kostitsyn and Spacek (pre injury) being the obvious examples – but after Carey Price Plex has probably been the Canadiens’ MVP.

I agree with you 100%. I heard several people poke blame at Plekanec on here yesterday. I don’t agree with it, but I was simply showing that guy that many players have been scrutinized over the past few days, not just Scott Gomez.

What the hell is going on in Junior Hockey? ELEVEN members of the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats have suffered concussions this season. Seven players were suspended over questionable hits to kick off the Q playoffs and no series has gone past two games yet.

The NHL’s response to the Chara hit sent a message to all hockey players. Both nhl.com and the sports networks use footage of fights to promote games. Before the last Bruin-Habs game I was at the gym and must have seen the hit on Pacioretty at least 50 times on the TVs scattered around the gym. This is how they were advertising the game.

Intimidation and bullying are what this sport is about now. It’s the one thing a lawyer like Gary Bettman understands.

Hockey is a contact sport. It is NO different today than ever before! That’s why Recchi said the “concussion PART( of the Pacioretty release of detailed injury info) was nothing unusual in today’s game”(para.) EXCEPT now they are looking at and testing for concussions and with modern equipment to boot.

This is a perfect example of why the ‘like/dislike’ button is a joke on this site. 6 dislikes (at the time I write this) for a perfectly legit question.
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The only interesting answers are those which destroy the questions. ~Susan Sontag

A question for Mr. Stubbs: Because I wasn’t there…your article makes mention that the goalies were exempt from the wind sprints and hard-skating exercises – what did they do while their mates were having their fun? Just the usual drills, or a comfy seat on the bench thinking “Thank goodness I’m not out there”? I would think it would be a little awkward for them by about, oh minute 10 or so.

Personally i hate having plek on on the point in the power play it seems so stupid, I never like seeing forwards on the point and why not have Wiz and Subban together??
I feel having Plek on the Point is messing with Plek and the D. Put him back up front Martin !

agree as well – while i generally do not like a forward on the point on PP it can work. the biggest issue with pleks is the void it creates on the half wall. noone else is as good as contoling the puck and the play form the boards and that’s a more doffocult job than running the point. i’d prefer more of a rotation which cycles one of the dmen lower while pleks slides up the point but htat would be once per pp.

This team has:
– A Stanley Cup Goalie
– Players that can score goals (not at the moment): Pleks, AK, Cammy, Gio, & PK & the Wiz can score as well.
– Players that can set up goals (again, not at the moment): DD, Pouliet, Gomez …
– Defence who can kill a Penalty: Gill, PK, Sopel …

We all know that this team can beat the best in the NHL, we have seen it this season. We have done it & will do it again.

Personally I’ve never been one to give a tinker’s damn about what “everyone” says or thinks. I have a pretty good morale compass and can generally make up my own mind about issues without having to resort to media and blog opinions. Facts and opinions in measured doses.